Creeper.



J. AUBR. CREEPER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.5,190B.

914,780. I, Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

JOHN AUER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

GREEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 5, 1908.

Patented March 9, 1909.

Serial No. 461,242.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN AUER, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and useful Creeper, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to creepers designed to be worn by baseball players, hunters, ice cutters, roof shinglers, &c., being designed to prevent the feet from slipping, and the objects of the invention are to provide a'device of this character which is simple in construction, effective in operation and durable in use.

A further and important object is to provide a novel and effective means for fastening the creeper to the sole of the shoe and to enablle it to be adjusted for any thickness of so e.

A further object is to construct the device of sheet metal and thereby attain economy in manufacture.

Referring to the drawings :Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe showing the creeper applied thereto ready for use. Fig. 2 is a section on line x a: Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, showing a modified form of construction. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the creeper. Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the device.

The creeper comprises two members 1 and 2, the member 1 having a tongue 3 which extends through a loop 4 in the member 2. The tongue 3 has a lug 5 which slides in a slot 6 in the member 2, the lug 5 having projections 7 which extend over the edges of the walls of slot 6 and prevent the tongue from accidentally disengaging therefrom. The member 2 has down-turned spurs 8 and 9, while the member 1 has a down-turned spur 10 similar to the spur 8. The spurs 8 and 10 are arranged opposite each other and are inclined, as shown, so that they converge toward the front. The spur 9 is arranged so that it ordinarily will occupy a position substantially midway between creepers 8 and 10, although, as is apparent, its position with respect to spur 8 is fixed. The member 1 has an up-turned plate 11 and the member 2 has a similar up-turned plate 12 and each of these plates has a slot 13. Slidable in each slot 13 is a toothed jaw 14 which has an arm 15 outside of the plate 11 and the upper ends of the arms 15 are adapted to be connected together by a strap 16. The jaws 14 are adapted to grip against the upper surface vthus held in position.

of the sole of the shoe as indicated in Fig. 1, and in order to adjust them to different thicknesses of soles and hold them against moving upwardly two plates 17 are provided, each plate having a plurality of edges (1, b, c, d and e, and each plate 17 is secured to the plate 11 or 12 by a rivet 18. The respective edges (1, b, c, d and e are located at various distances from the center of the rivet 18 and either of said edges is adapted to act asan abutment against which the jaw 14 is held and prevented from upward movement. By adjusting the plate 17 so that the edge a, for example, acts as the abutment, the jaw 14 will be allowed to stand at the highest point to take in a very thick sole, the edge a being located the closest to the rivet 18.

When the device is not applied to the shoe the tongue 3 springs up slightly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, but as soon as the creeper is slipped onto the shoe the sole of the shoe springs down the tongue 3 and causes the same to bind and cramp very tightly in the loop 4 which prevents the members 1 and 2 from slipping with respect to each other. This binding operation is augmented upon tightening the strap 16 so that the device when strapped in place grips the shoe very securely and will not come off accidentally. The members 1 and 2 are easily adjusted for various widths of shoes by simply loosening strap 16 and sliding the member 1 inwardly or outwardly as it is desired to adjust the creeper for a narrow shoe or a wide shoe. After the device is slipped over the shoe the members are simply pressed against the edge of the sole by the fingers and then the strap 16 is tightened to secure the device.

Fig. 3 shows a modified form of device for regulating the jaws 14 for diiferent thicknesses of soles. In this form the side plate 11 is hinged at 19 to pintles 20 formed by slots 21 cut in the member 1 or 2. The plate 11 has a large slot the side edges of which are formed with teeth 22. A jaw 23 has a shank 24, each edge of which is provided with teeth 25 which engage in the teeth 22 and the jaw is The shank 24 has a longitudinal slot 26 which communicates at the top with a transverse slot 27 and a rivet 28 passes through the slot 26 and is revoluble in the plate 11 The rivet 28 has a fiat head 29 which prevents it from slipping through the slot 26 when turned transversely thereto as shown in Fig. 3, and when thus turned it holds the jaw securely in position with its teeth 25 in close engagement with teeth 22. To raise or lower the jaw 23 the rivet 28 is turned so that its flat head 29 lies parallel with slot 26. This enables the shank 24 to be disengaged from teeth 22 and moved up or down. The teeth 22, 25 are sufliciently small to provide for the necessary fineness of adjustment for different thicknesses of soles. The strap 16 may be secured in the slot 27. In this form when the strap is drawn tight the plate 11 is swung inwardly on its hinge joint 19, 20 which forces the jaw 23 tightly against the sole of the shoe.

What I claim is 1. A creeper comprising two members slidably connected together, down-turned spurs on said members adapted to prevent slipping, each of said members having a plate which extends upwardly, said plate having a slot, a j aw slidable in said slot and adapted to grip the sole of the shoe, adjustable means on each of said plates above said jaw for acting as an abutment to prevent the upward movement of said jaw, and an extensible connection between the upper end of said jaw members adapted to pass over the shoe.

2. A creeper comprising a pair of members slidably connected together, said members having down-turned spurs adapted to prevent slippage, jaws vertically adjustable on said members, said jaws being adapted to grip the sole of the shoe, a plate revolubly connected to each member above the associated jaws, said plate having a plurality of edges arranged at various distances from its axis whereby either of said edges may be moved into position to act as an abutment for the jaw and prevent it from upward movement.

3. A creeper comprising two members one of which is provided with a loop and the other of which has a tongue slidable through the loop, the loop member having a longitudinal slot and the tongue member having a headed stud projecting through said slot, said tongue normally springing up slightly from the loop member but causing the tongue member to bind tightly in the loop when the tongue is depressed by the sole of the shoe, jaws adapted to grip the sole of the shoe carried by the respective members, and means on each member above each jaw for adjusting the elevation of said jaw according to the thickness of the sole of the shoe.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, California, this 29th day of October, 1908.

JOHN AUER.

In presence of ARTHUR CoRrELYoU, ROBERT L. HUsTED. 

